Accompanying victims in trials for human rights violations in Argentina and Chile

In contexts where serious human rights violations have occurred, two of the main demands that victims make are access to criminal justice and the development of a comprehensive reparation process. Social workers can play a key role in this area. In this context, the role of social workers could include several responsibilities, among others: (1) participating in truth and reconciliation commissions; (2) designing and implement programmes of reparation established after military dictatorships; and (3) working in multidisciplinary teams, providing psychosocial and judicial support to victims of human rights violations who file criminal complaints against their torturers. This chapter refers to the documented cases of Argentina and Chile from a human rights perspective to review the fundamentals of supporting victims in judicial processes for crimes against humanity.